Deaf community flocks to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Santa Cruz >> Interspersed with the roar of the rides and the music on the loudspeakers at the Boardwalk on Saturday were snippets of American Sign Language.

The Boardwalk played host to Deaf Fest, an event geared toward drawing the deaf community for a day at the beach.

"Basically, it's an opportunity to get that community together, deaf and American Sign Language students," said Karley Pope, director of promotions and entertainment at the Boardwalk.

In its second year, the Deaf Fest drew more than 500 people specifically for the event, Boardwalk organizers said.

Also part of the event were booths promoting organizations for the deaf and hard of hearing and a deaf comedian show in the evening.

A deaf festival was hosted at the Boardwalk years ago but stopped after interest waned. This iteration of the festival was started in collaboration with sign language interpreters the boardwalk hired for events and the Deaf Counseling, Advocacy and Referral Agency, Pope said.

"They came to us and said, 'Hey, bring it back. Let's put some new life into it,'" she said.

And new life was put into it as deaf people and supporters of the community showed up to enjoy a day at the Boardwalk. Organizers expected a larger influx of attendees this year.

Jessica Shinn and Haley Dittman, students taking American Sign Language courses at Santa Rosa Junior College, came to the festival to support the deaf community and enjoy a day at the beach. Shinn and Dittman came with a group of other students, all of whom could hear but would communicate with each other in American Sign Language.

The event itself promotes awareness for the deaf community and may bring awareness, said Shinn, 21.

"It shows other people who don't know about the deaf community what it's all about," Shinn said.

Isaura Phillips was invited by her friend Samantha Tran to the event. Both are deaf and try to attend deaf community events when the opportunity arises.

Phillips, 48, of Tracy, hasn't been to the Boardwalk in 18 years and was really happy the event was there. The duo went on several rides and were deciding where to go next.

Tran, 37, of San Jose,learned about the event through Facebook and brought a group of friends with her.

Jillian Domsic, 22, of Watsonville, grew up deaf and said the day was important for the deaf community.

There aren't a lot of opportunities to meet deaf people on such a large scale, she said through an interpreter. The day gives them a chance to make new friends in the deaf community.

Andrew Taylor came with a group from Salinas for the event. Taylor, 30, said through an interpreter the event was a good way to meet deaf friends who he may have lost touch with through the years. He added that he meets new friends from other areas in California and finds out about their deaf community.

"It's a great place to find information about what other deaf events are going on," he said.